


yesbirds-onthemoon tumblr fic collection

by Salty_Cro



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: F/F, Gen, M/M, Request Meme, Tumblr Prompt, each chapter will have individual tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-09-24 22:10:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 11,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17109044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salty_Cro/pseuds/Salty_Cro
Summary: i take fanfic requests over on my taz blog! ill be compiling everything here so i can have it in one link. each chapter will have all the tags and warnings in the summary.





	1. Angus is not allowed to grow up

**Author's Note:**

> TAZ Balance, with THB and Angus. Rated general, no pairings.

“Hello sirs!” A familiar voice behind them greeted.

Taako was the first to turn around. He was startled for a moment at the person standing there. Angus was taller now, almost as tall as Taako (would be without the heels or hat). That was unacceptable.

“Ango! What happened to you?” Taako exclaimed. He cast a cursory Detect Magic, but there were no strange curses or illusions on the kid.

“What do you mean?” Angus asked innocently.

“You’re growing!” Magnus shouted, “Stop it!”

Angus hardly even moved as Magnus came over to crush him in a supposedly height-reducing hug. Magnus overestimated how much arm extension he had to do to wrap around Angus. And while he could have easily picked Angus up before, he was now just holding him up on his tiptoes. Magnus pulled away with a frown.

“Listen, kid, you were already annoying when you were my height. Don’t get any more ideas now that you’re all tall and shit,” Merle said.

“Of course not, sir! I was just on my way to the library,” Angus said, his voice cracking on “library.” All three men collectively frowned.

“Studying illegal magic?” Taako asked.

“You know it!” Angus said.

“That’s my boy,” Taako said, “Now that you’re tall enough to reach to forbidden shelves, you better be doing a lot more crime.”

“Well, I am still a detective, so I can’t do a lot of–”

“Hey! You think because you’re as tall as me now you can just do whatever you want?” Taako interrupted.

“No, sir, I just–you know what my job is, right?” Angus said.

“It’s being a kid,” Magnus interjected, “Why aren’t you in school right now?”

“Well, it’s July, so, y’know,” Angus said.

“You’re a nerd! You must have some kinda summer class,” Merle said.

“I did, actually, but it’s over now, so I can enjoy my summer!” Angus said.

“Can you enjoy it by, hmm, not growing?” Magnus suggested.

“I don’t think that’s how it works–”

“If you’re as tall as me then we will have to fight,” Magnus said, “So you can keep growing, but you will have to beat me in a fight.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. See you later!” And Angus walked away toward the library.

Merle walked into the kitchen in the BoB residence dome. There were a few other people in there, but Merle didn’t bother saying hello. He just needed some coffee.

Unfortunately, needing coffee meant having to climb up onto the counter to reach the mugs. The kitchen design wasn’t entirely short-person-friendly. Merle sighed and went over to grab a chair. Before he could get very far, he heard someone talk.

“Hey sir, do you want me to get your mug for you?” Angus asked. Merle turned to look at him.

“Fine,” Merle sighed.

Angus walked over to the cupboard. He opened the door and pulled out the green mug with flowers painted on it with ease. Then he walked back over to Merle.

“Here you go, sir!” Angus said, handing over the mug. Merle took it begrudgingly.

“I hate this,” Merle muttered. Angus pretended not to hear him.

~~☀~~

“Hey kid, I’m going to the Neverwinter mall, wanna come?” Taako asked over his Stone of Farspeech.

Normally, he wouldn’t offer, but Angus was in dire need of some new clothes. He had outgrown most of his own clothes and seemed to be borrowing different articles of clothing from different people. His shirt was Carey’s, his jeans were Avi’s, and his shoes were Johann’s. Luckily, Angus still wasn’t Killian-sized yet.

“Of course, sir!” Angus replied excitedly. Over the stone, it sounded like Angus’s voice was deeper. Weird.

Taako drove his fantasy car to Angus’s current school, his bitter rival, the Miller Arcane Science Academy. Angus was waiting at the front. He had just finished soccer practice. As he got into the passenger seat, Taako was surprised to see that he actually fit.

“Wow, kid, you’re almost an adult now,” Taako said. Then, in a deadpan voice, he added, “That’s illegal.”

“I thought you wanted me to do crime things,” Angus frowned.

“You can break stupid laws like ‘don’t steal things’ and ‘don’t go really fast on the road.’ Especially ‘cause you’re a kid. Once you become an adult it gets a lot easier to put you in jail,” Taako said. He pretended that was the only reason; really, he wanted Angus to stay a little kid forever. He would just be easier to boss around then, Taako thought.

~~☀~~

“Magnus, sir, you don’t have to lean over to talk to me,” Angus said.

Magnus frowned. He was hunched over just a little bit, so that his face was right up to Angus’s face. It was awkward, because as Angus said, he really didn’t need to.

“If I keep doing it, maybe it’ll intimidate you into not growing,” Magnus said.

“Sir, you were surrounded by scientists for over a hundred years. You know how growing works. We can’t keep doing this,” Angus said.

“Well, like I said, if you get to be as tall as me, you’ll have to fight me! And between the two of us, I reall don’t think you want to do that,” Magnus said.

“That’s true, I don’t want to fight you,” Angus said.

“Then stop growing!” Magnus said.

“Alright sir, I’ll do my best,” Angus sighed.


	2. theres a moth in the airport

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TAZ Amnesty, with Indrid, Duck, and Duck's sister Jane. Rated teen for swearing. Pairing: Indruck.  
> Indrid meets Duck's sister for the first time. It goes as well as one would expect.

It was December 28, and Duck was driving to the airport. His sister was coming back from her relief mission in Honduras, and Duck had promised to pick her up. There weren’t that many people on the road, between snow hazards and the fact that it was three in the morning. Duck was driving south on the highway. Pine trees and snow were the only things he could see in his headlights. A flash of red reflected back at him. Duck slammed on the brakes. The car skidded forward, but stopped in front of the figure. Now that he was closer, he could see who it was.

The gaunt, imposing silhouette of Mothman was standing in front of his car. Duck rolled down the window.

“Indrid! What the fuck!” Duck exclaimed.

“It’s very cold out here,” Indrid said.

“For fuck’s sake, you scared me. Get in the car,” Duck said.

Indrid put his glasses on. Duck watched as he instantly transformed into a poorly-dressed human and got into the car. Duck turned the heater up. Indrid reached into the backseat and pulled Duck’s jacket up and onto himself. Duck waited for him to get situated and buckled in before he started driving again.

“So are you gonna give me a reason why you were standing in the road?” Duck asked.

“A few reasons, actually,” Indrid said, “First of all, there’s going to be a lot of traffic coming out of Fairmont, which means there will be an accident, so I came to warn you about that. Second of all, your sister’s flight is going to be coming in later than she told you because of the storm warning. Third of all, I missed you.”

“Indrid, we saw each other yesterday,” Duck said, “Not that I didn’t miss you, I guess? But I don’t see why you had to be standing in the middle of the road.”

“Well, you don’t have a cell phone, so I couldn’t call you. This was the best way for me to get your attention,” Indrid said.

“In the middle, though? Like in the middle of the road?” Duck pointed out.

“Okay, admittedly that wasn’t a good part of the plan. But still–you’re going to want to turn here,” Indrid said. Duck followed his direction.

“Side streets are really gonna be faster?” Duck questioned.

“It’s the after-Christmas rush. Between flight delays and ice accidents, the whole thing is a mess. Turn left,” Indrid said.

“I guess,” Duck said, “I mean, you said Jane would be in late so I guess we got time.”

“Yeah,” Indrid said, “Keep going until the main street.”

“Do you want to meet Jane? I mean, you’re already here,” Duck said.

“Oh. Right. I was just going to… I don’t know what I was going to do,” Indrid said, “Sure. I can’t imagine she would be very inclined to meet me right now, but…”

“It’ll be fine. I was gonna ask if you wanted to meet her anyway,” Duck said.

“Yes, but during the daytime, after she is well-rested,” Indrid said. Duck was confused at his pessimistic outlook. Surely not all the futures were that bad. Then Duck realized Indrid was nervous.

“Look, Indrid, it’s gonna be fine. I’m not saying you guys gotta have a whole conversation. But I am going to have to explain why my boyfriend came with me to pick her up,” Duck said.

“I think the best thing to tell her would be that I live in Fairmont and and you’re dropping me off,” Indrid said.

“Is that the best thing? Because then I’m gonna have to drop you off somewhere,” Duck said.

“You’re right. I was thinking most believable. What do you think?” Indrid asked.

“Indrid, you know I’m not gonna be able to lie,” Duck said.

“I had assumed I would be the one talking,” Indrid said, “Honestly, it’s possible she won’t ask why I’m there. It is very late.”

“Alright,” Duck said.

The rest of the drive was quiet, save for Indrid telling Duck where to turn. They parked in the pick-up lot and went into the baggage claim area. Indrid pointed to the illuminated sign saying that most international flights would be delayed. It also displayed the estimated arrival times of those flights.

“Should we go get coffee or something?” Duck asked. Indrid was already walking toward the Starbucks.

Duck caught up with him at the end of the line. Duck wasn’t short by any means, but he was no match for Indrid’s inhumanly long legs. When he got there, Indrid leaned into him. He was still wearing Duck’s jacket.

They got their drinks and sat down to wait. Duck got black coffee, and Indrid got hot chocolate. Even in the bright fluorescents of the airport, Duck felt his eyelids drooping. He had gone to bed early, but still…

The next thing Duck knew, he was being nudged awake. His head was on Indrid’s shoulder, and in front of them was Jane. Duck sat up, blinking away the sleep in his eyes.

“Hey, Jane! You’re here!” Duck said.

“Yep, made it all the way back! Was starting to think that storm would cut us off, but we made it in time,” Jane said, “I met your boyfriend here, by the way. Nice of him to keep you awake, even if he didn’t do too good a job at it.”

“Well, with the traffic, and the waiting, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to let him sleep for a bit,” Indrid said.

“Yeah, he’s working too hard lookin’ at trees all day,” Jane teased. Duck shook his head.

“We can’t all be heroes, Jane,” Duck said.

“I wouldn’t call myself a hero. But cooler than you, definitely,” Jane said.

“We’ll see,” Duck said, “You need help with your stuff?”

“Nah, I got it,” Jane grinned. She held up her two carry-on bags. “I travel light.”

“Well excuse me for trying to be polite,” Duck smiled. He stood up and rolled his shoulders. Indrid stood up next to him.

“Right, of course, how gentlemanly of you,” Jane said. They started walking toward the door.

“I think Duck’s very gentlemanly,” Indrid said quietly, reaching around Duck’s waist. Jane laughed.

“How long have you two been together?” Jane asked, “I haven’t seen you around before.”

“We met about a month and a half ago. I came into town on work for the forest service, doing some safety inspection on the trails there. Duck was kind enough to show me around, and then I asked him out about a week later. And my trailer isn’t rated for snow, so I’ll be trapped for at least the winter,” Indrid lied. Duck almost envied his calmness.

“We should all get dinner together some time, when we’re all awake,” Jane suggested.

“That sounds great,” Indrid said.

“So how was Honduras?” Duck interrupted. He couldn’t have them team up against him yet.


	3. the tiebreaker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TAZ Balance, with the whole IPRE crew, focusing on Davenport. Rated general. No pairings/Davenchurch if you turn your phone upside down and squint.  
> On the Starblaster, there ended up being a lot of arguing. It usually came down to Davenport to decide.

Sometimes, on the Starblaster, there were arguments.

They weren’t always big. Sometimes Lup stole Taako’s hairbrush. Sometimes Merle used Barry’s necromancy book as a coaster. But when you force seven people into the same ~600 square feet, things tended to escalate.

Somehow, around the fourteenth cycle, Davenport became the tie breaker. He wasn’t entirely sure if it was because he was technically in charge, or if it was his fatherly role on the team, or because he literally didn’t care who ate who’s leftovers. He understood that everyone was tense, even as routines formed. Still, that didn’t make the whole thing less petty. Davenport usually picked whoever needed a win the most that time.

One of the most memorable times this happened was somewhere around the 35th cycle. They were on a planet with a surface made entirely of cloudy red glass. Small towns were cut through the glass into the grey dirt below. There was limited water, at least as far as the local inhabitants told them.

This obviously became a huge point of conflict. The Starblaster had a water recycling system, but it was still limited. The slight dehydration set everyone on edge. Limits on shower times and rationing were put in place. Still, there was one thing that Lucretia and Barry hadn’t counted on when they measured everything out.

Merle needed to water his plants.

At first, Davenport wasn’t even aware of the problem. He found out later that Merle had been siphoning some of his own water allotment to water the plants. Obviously, that wasn’t enough, so Merle had started to take some of the water from the ship to do it. That was when Taako had caught on.

It had escalated from there. Taako had tried talking to Merle first, which Davenport was almost grateful for. However, Taako had said something along the lines of “do you see how much fucking hair i have? if i cant shower more than seven minutes then you cant water those stupid flowers.” Lup was also quoted as saying “I’ll burn those shits down. They’ll just come back next year, when we have water again.”

Threats were generally the sign of when things went too far. Barry took Taako and Lup’s side, and Lucretia and Magnus took Merle’s side. At that point, Davenport had to step in. He called an official meeting on the main deck.

“Listen, everyone. I have been made aware of the issue that you guys are fighting over,” Davenport said.

“Merle started it!” Taako exclaimed.

“Taako, please. I’m going to give both sides the opportunity to explain themselves. We’ve been through this,” Davenport said. Taako narrowed his eyes and slumped down in his chair. “Merle, because you are the source of the conflict, you can go first.”

“Well, as you all know, I have a lot of plants in my room. And they need water. I’m not even using that much! Like a pint a week. And it gives the ship more oxygen! It’s healthy,” Merle explained. Davenport nodded.

“Taako, your counterpoint?” Davenport prompted.

“I don’t see why he gets to use the water when we don’t. It’s not fair to the rest of us. I have the longest hair, but that doesn’t mean I get extra shower time. I cook for you all and you tell me I have to be careful with that!” Taako said. Davenport nodded again.

“Does anyone else have anything to say on this?” Davenport asked.

Apparently, everyone did. Lup agreed with Taako on the cooking thing. Magnus argued that the plants didn’t get themselves into a place where they wouldn’t have water. Barry said that he hadn’t been able to conduct any research because of the restrictions. Lucretia said that hey had no evidence that the plants would come back in the next cycle.

It was a tough call. Luckily, Davenport was the master of tough calls.

“Here’s what we’ll do,” Davenport said. Everyone stopped their muttered arguments and looked up at him. “I will give up some of my shower time. For everyone. I trust that someone can draw up a plan so that there is an extra seven gallons of water.”

Lucretia frowned, “Captain, we can’t ask you to do that.”

“It’s fine. I’m short, remember? I don’t need as much time as the twins do,” Davenport said.

“We’ll calculate based on the current level, not the projected one before Merle, right?” Barry said.

“Yes. Whatever needs to happen so we stop wasting time arguing,” Davenport said. Everyone suddenly looked very sheepish. “Meeting over.”


	4. holiday cookies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TAZ Balance, with THB and Angus. Rated teen for swearing. No pairings.  
> Taako needed a metric shit ton of cookies, so he enlisted the help of his loyal friends.

Taako didn’t know why he was doing this.

The kitchen was a wreck, there was flour everywhere, and Taako had caught Magnus trying to sneak some of the chocolate chips twice. Merle had spent 20 minutes trying to get an adequate chair to stand on. Somehow, Angus was the only one not fucking up. And they hadn’t even started yet.

“Alright, everyone, do you remember what you’re supposed to be doing?” Taako asked.

“I am supposed to do ten of each shape,” Magnus said, holding up a handful of cookie cutters. Taako feared for the metal cookie sheet he was using.

“Don’t eat too much of the extra dough,” Taako warned.

“I’m in charge of spreading the mix evenly on the sheet,” Merle said. Taako’s Mage Hand blocked him from sticking his hand in the sugar.

“’In charge’ is a relative term. Use the spatula,” Taako said.

“I’m going to measure the ingredients beforehand,” Angus said. He had arranged the measuring cups in order from smallest to largest.

“Correct,” Taako said, “Please try to keep this assembly line going. We need like 200 of these things ready by tomorrow. And yes, I have rooms set up for you all. After this.”

With that, they got started. Taako had set out example proportions for Angus to reference; he poured those into the mixing bowl expertly and stirred it until it was perfectly smooth and dense. He passed the bowl over to Merle and watched like a hawk as Merle spatulated the mixture onto the sheet. The sheet was passed to Magnus, who used a strange method of aligning as many shapes as possible at the same time and smashed them all in at the same time, ten times. Taako took the extra dough to be made into regular cookies and put the tray in the oven.

This pattern worked surprisingly well. Taako added in trays of the regular cookies into the oven on particularly slow turns. In the end, they had about 240 cookies in total.

“I would ask how exactly the fuck you guys managed to pull this off, but I think the answer is obvious,” Taako said. He gestured to the plate of cookies on the table. “Go ahead.”

Magnus rushed forward to snatch a handful of cookies. Merle managed to grab several as well. Angus waited his turn, and only took one cookie. Taako looked at him. Angus took two more cookies. Taako looked at him harder. Angus took a fourth cookie. Taako nodded and picked up a cookie for himself.

“These are so good!” Magnus exclaimed.

“’eah,” Merle said, with his mouth and beard full of crumbs.

Everyone looked to Angus. He had taken a big bite of one of the cookies and was chewing thoughtfully. Taako tilted his head expectantly.

“This is the best cookie I’ve ever had,” Angus decided.

Everyone cheered. Taako patted Angus on the arm and said, “It tastes better when you do the work.”

“That sounds like you’re trying to convince me to do more work,” Angus noticed.

“Don’t think so hard about it, kid,” Taako said. Angus shrugged and shoved more of the cookie in his mouth.


	5. taako is a bat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TAZ Balance, with Kravitz and Taako. Rated general. Pairing: Taakitz  
> Kravitz knew Taako was different than other elves, and some times were more evident than others.

Kravitz, when he was alive, had been a half-elf. In his living form, his pointed ears and slender stature gave that away. He had been around for a long time too, so he had seen behaviors evolve. He knew elves in Faerun tended to be catlike, both in grace and grooming habits.

None of that could have prepared him for Taako.

Upon realizing Taako’s full past, it was clear that some of Taako’s less familiar habits were more common on his home plane. Apparently, they were more batlike. That didn’t make it any less weird when Kravitz found Taako chilling on the top shelf of the walk-in closet with the lights off. It didn’t make it easier to go back to sleep when Taako got out of bed and started echo-locating his way to the bathroom. And it definitely didn’t help when Kravitz came home to Taako sauteing crickets.

“Listen, babe, I know this looks bad but Magnus sent me the recipe so I wanted to try it,” Taako said.

“No, by all means, go ahead,” Kravitz grinned.

“I was gonna make regular dinner too,” Taako insisted. He Mage Hand-ed a cookbook off the shelf and flipped it to a page before pushing it to Kravitz.

“Now I’m curious, though,” Kravitz said, catching the book. He glanced at it: Taako had opened it to a recipe for a pesto garlic bread. Kravitz set the book aside and walked over to Taako.

“Krav, if this is some weird chicken game I’m not gonna fight you on it. I really don’t expect you to eat these,” Taako said, lifting the pan off the stove and turning off the flame. If Kravitz was being honest, it did smell good.

“It’s just crickets, Taako,” Kravitz said.

“And olive oil and garlic,” Taako said. So that’s what the smell was.

“Exactly. What’s not to like?” Kravitz said.

“Babe, if this is your way of trying to reconcile your lifestyle with mine–you know what, no. Here.” Taako pulled a (still hot) cricket out of the pan and popped it in Kravitz’s mouth.

It wasn’t hot enough to bother Kravitz, luckily. It was good, though. He hadn’t had any expectations for this experience, but somehow Taako managed to surpass them.

“Delicious as always,” Kravitz smiled, leaning in to kiss Taako on the cheek.

Taako’s face scrunched. “You’re ruining your cold and unbiased image.”

“And you’re ruining your makeup,” Kravitz said. He reached out and brushed away some of the glitter that had fallen onto Taako’s cheek. Taako leaned into the touch absentmindedly. So he was still a little bit like a cat.

“I will make something else for dinner, but you can have some of these while I’m working,” Taako said. He kissed Kravitz and put the pan of crickets on the breakfast bar. “Some.”

“Taako, have I told you how much I love you?” Kravitz said.

“I could hear it again,” Taako smirked.

“It’s a lot,” Kravitz said, “And every day it’s like I love you even more.”

“Shut up,” Taako said, scrunching his face again. He caught himself though, and blinked away the eyeshadow that had fallen in his eye.


	6. first kiss with the mothed man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TAZ Amnesty, with Duck, Indrid, and a little bit of Juno. Rated teen for language. Pairing: Indruck  
> Duck returns Indrid's glasses and learns something important.

“Whose glasses are those?” Juno asked.

Duck looked up at her. He looked back at the big red glasses on his desk. “They’re, uh, my friend’s.”

“Was someone in here earlier?” Juno asked.

“No, he left them… at my apartment,” Duck said. Juno looked skeptical.

“Okay, well, why did you bring them here?” Juno questioned. Duck felt himself getting sweaty.

“Well, he’s uh, he’s… he said he was gonna go hiking? Yeah. Hiking. Over by the Eastwood Campgrounds. So I was gonna go… bring them to him,” Duck said.

“Okay, well, take a radio when you go out. You didn’t last time,” Juno said.

“Right,” Duck said. He picked up the glasses. “Actually, I’ll just go now.”

“Are you sure?” Juno frowned.

“Yeah, I’ll just–” Duck stood up awkwardly and walked to the door. He put on his jacket and stowed the glasses in the pocket.

“Radio,” Juno said. Duck nodded and took one from the charging dock.

Duck walked out the door. That didn’t go as terribly as it could have. He wished he could have left the glasses with someone else to deal with, but apparently everyone else was willing to steal them. They already got two of the things on the list. Duck figured Ned and Aubrey would trade in the badge and seed, respectively. That’s fine. He didn’t need something from a giant magical cat.

The Eastwood campground was close enough to the ranger station that Duck could walk. His boots sank in the snow that had melted into icy mud. The blanket of pine needles preserved underneath created the forest fragrance that was so familiar to Duck. Up ahead, he saw the end of Indrid’s Winnebago sticking through the pines. He trudged the last few yards up to the metal stairs.

“It’s open,” Indrid’s voice came through the door.

When Duck grabbed the handle, the door pushed open. Duck stepped inside. It was sweltering, with all the space heaters on full blast. The only light was sunbeams peeking through cracks in the curtains. Duck slipped his jacket off, pulling the glasses out of the pocket. As he looked around, he didn’t see Indrid.

“Indrid?” Duck called out.

The door that separated the main cabin from the bed cracked open. A single fuzzy black hand with two long fingers and a sharp thumb reached out. Duck walked over cautiously and handed Indrid the glasses. The hand retracted, and the door opened all the way. Standing there was human-passing Indrid, with his glasses on and a smile resting on his lips.

“Thank you,” Indrid said, “I was worried for a minute. There were a few timelines where you didn’t give them back. And yes, I could make another charm, but I’ve gotten attached to these.”

“Well, it just seemed mean to take your glasses,” Duck said.

“Yeah, it would have been. But you didn’t,” Indrid said.

“I mean, I did punch you in the face to knock them off,” Duck pointed out, “I wanted to apologize for that, uh, I didn’t want to hurt you or anything, it was just, y’know, I wasn’t thinking, and the goatman was there, so I kinda panicked–”

“It’s alright, Duck. You know I would have moved out of the way if there were a better way to go about it,” Indrid said.

“I kinda figured, but, um, I still feel bad. It wasn’t a super great plan,” Duck said.

“Trust me, it was one of the better ones,” Indrid said, “If you hadn’t done it, I would have most likely gotten hurt. I was too preoccupied with the tree’s confounding magic that I wasn’t really in self-preservation mode.”

“I’m glad it worked out, then,” Duck said.

It was quiet for a moment. Then Indrid walked over to the fridge. “Eggnog?”

“I–sure,” Duck said. He should probably head back to the station, but he didn’t want to be rude.

“You have about twelve minutes before Juno radios you,” Indrid said. He was dual-wielding the eggnog cartons without looking, filling two cups. He took the novelty Batman cup for himself and handed the regular glass to Duck.

“Thanks,” Duck said. Indrid was already drinking the nog. Duck looked out the window.

“It was nice of you to save me,” Indrid said, “And don’t try to tell me you did it because I’m useful. I know a lot about you, Duck.”

“Uh… you’re welcome, I guess? It kinda sounds like you’re threatening me,” Duck said.

“Oh. Sorry. I meant that I know you have a tendency to save people. Very honorable of you,” Indrid said. He took another long drink of his eggnog.

“Guess it’s part of the whole ‘chosen one’ schtick,” Duck shrugged.

“Maybe it’s the opposite. Maybe you were chosen because you’re so good at saving people,” Indrid said.

“There are a lot of people better suited to the whole ‘save the world’ business than I am,” Duck said.

“Maybe it’s not the world you’re meant to save. Maybe you’re supposed to save the people that save the world,” Indrid said.

“Maybe,” Duck said noncommittally. He took a sip of his eggnog. “So how are things going?”

“Mostly I’ve been hiding in my room. Can’t have people seeing a huge mothman in their nice little town,” Indrid said, “I’ve kept an eye on the timelines. We seem to be on a pretty straight path right now. No disaster trees.”

“No dangers?” Duck asked.

“Well, danger is always a possibility. And I tend to see big picture catastrophes. I don’t know if you’ll forget your wallet,” Indrid said.

“Damn, you’re good,” Duck grinned.

Indrid smiled, showing pointed teeth that glinted in the low light of the space heater. “That’s kind of you to say, but you know I have no choice in knowing.”

“Is it hard?” Duck blurted out. He couldn’t imagine that knowing everything would be easy.

Indrid looked surprised. Duck didn’t know how Indrid could be surprised. He had barely said anything.

“I would be lying if I said no. But, y’know, I’ve learned to deal with it,” Indrid said, gesturing around the trailer. “It doesn’t look like it, I know.”

“Hey, I get it. I know housekeeping isn’t always a top priority,” Duck said.

Setting down his empty cup, Indrid opened the curtains in the kitchenette. He collected all the cups on the counter and dumped them into the sink with a crash.

“Listen, Duck… I can’t afford to pick favorites,” Indrid said. He looked out at the pine trees behind the campground. Duck frowned. “I’ve been alive for so long. I’ve seen so many shitty things, Duck. I can’t pick favorites.”

It sounded like Indrid was trying to convince himself. Duck moved forward slightly, and Indrid’s gaze snapped to him. Duck didn’t need to see his eyes to know that Indrid wasn’t really looking at him. He stayed quiet.

“What is it about you, Duck?” Indrid said. In an instant, he was right in front of Duck, and now he was looking at Duck. Looking into Duck. “I believe in fate as much as the next seer, but this is more than that. I haven’t been in Kepler long, Duck, but I don’t think I’m supposed to leave. At least not for a long time. I saw it in some of the paths, but once you saved Billy, that was it. You are in all of the futures, Duck. Every single one of them. And I don’t know if that’s how it really will be or if its just my own calculations being biased. I don’t know which would be better. But Duck, you are a constant. And those are rare. I think I need to stay here, with you.”

Duck stared at Indrid, dumbfounded. That was a lot to dump on a guy. A guy who was just there to return glasses. He tried to process everything that Indrid said. He was a constant? Really? He was just Duck. And Indrid was going to stay in Kepler? Because of him?

“I… uh, that’s… I don’t know how to respond to that,” Duck said. Indrid was still less than a foot from Duck, which he felt was a confounding variable in his reply. The huge red glasses were intimidating. And Indrid’s lips were quirked in a contemplative expression.

“I know it’s a lot. But if you are as steadfast as my visions say, there will be time to figure it out,” Indrid said. He didn’t back up; if anything, he seemed to be drifting closer.

“I hope so,” Duck said.

Their lips met.

It was soft, like neither of them could really believe it was happening. Indrid’s lips were chapped, and Duck didn’t imagine his own were much better. But it was nice. It was new, but not strange. Duck didn’t need a vision to see himself doing it again.

Indrid stepped back slightly, but Duck realized he had taken hold of Indrid’s arms. It didn’t look like Indrid minded, so he stayed still.

“I know I shouldn’t have favorites. But everything is pointing me to you, Duck,” Indrid said.

“Well, I don’t know about signs or anything, but, uh, I like you, definitely,” Duck said.

That was all the indication Indrid seemed to need. He kissed Duck again, harder this time. Duck responded with equal enthusiasm. He was kissing the Mothman.

Static crackled. “Duck?”

“Shit,” Duck muttered. Indrid laughed.

“I did say twelve minutes,” Indrid said.

“It’s not like I was counting,” Duck said. Just when things were looking up for him.

“We can talk more after your shift,” Indrid said. Duck nodded. Indrid quickly kissed him again. “See you later.”


	7. tho(ugh)ts on moths (or one in particular)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TAZ Amnesty, with Indrid and the three players but mainly Duck. Rated teen for slightly suggestive content. Pairing: Indruck  
> Duck reacting in real-time to Indrid's Sylph form.

“You want my glasses?” Indrid asked, a smirk growing on his face. Duck knew something was going to happen.

“Yes,” Aubrey insisted.

“If you insist,” Indrid said. He reached up and took off his big red spectacles.

The transformation was instantaneous. The person they knew as Indrid was no longer there. In front of them, bent over awkwardly, was Mothman. Duck wasn’t surprised by the transformation, but he was in awe of Indrid’s Sylf form.

Indrid was… overwhelming. Duck had to look away. He dug his fingernails into his palms to try and center himself. His mouth felt dry.

Duck was looking at Indrid’s eyes, huge and glowing red. Indrid was looming over them, peering down. His razor-like mandibles were pulled into what seemed like a grin in sharp contrast to the rest of his fuzzy head. Duck swallowed. He had to move his head to take in the rest of Indrid’s body.

Two sets of huge black wings were curled around Indrid. One looked like a set of mottled grey and black moth wings with red eye spots. The lower set, Duck recognized, were elliptical bird wings like one might see on a sparrow. In the back of his mind, he remembered what one of his colleagues had said about elliptical wings being used for fast takeoff and more controlled landing. Duck wanted to touch Indrid’s wings, but he felt like that wouldn’t be appropriate.

Then Duck’s eyes reached Indrid’s middle section. His chest-thorax was fuzzy, tapering down into an armored abdomen. One set of human-adjacent arms extended from Indrid’s shoulders, and another set made primarily of feathers and chitin stuck out from the bottom of his thorax. Cool, yeah, that’s fine. That’s good. Okay. Thin legs that were fuzzy down to the knee and chitin below that were giving Indrid extra height. Duck looked back up to Indrid’s face.

“Put them back on,” Ned said, after several seconds of stunned silence. Duck nodded, lost for words.

Indrid pushed the glasses onto his face and turned into a human again. He smirked, “Now you see why I can’t let you have them.”

“Yeah,” Duck said quietly. He felt… breathless? Maybe he was just scared. Indrid glanced at him knowingly. Duck wasn’t even sure how Indrid managed to communicate that expression with his glasses on.


	8. feathers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TAZ Amnesty, with Duck, Jane, and Indrid. Rated teen for language. Pairing: Indruck  
> Jane finds out who Indrid really is.

Indrid had a tendency to leave… well, not quite feathers. Duck called them feathers in his mind. Even though Indrid was in his human form most of the time, they still appeared. These tufts of soft hair were littered around the Winnebago, resting in the snow, clinging to the lining of Duck’s jackets. Duck wasn’t even sure how they got there. They were just suddenly there.

This is fine, at first. Winnie bats them around on the floor. Duck picks them off his clothes when he needs to. Indrid doesn’t even seem to notice them. The problem is, Duck’s sister Jane was in town, and she was coming to his apartment.

“Hey, Duck!” Jane greeted as Duck opened the door.

“Hey Jane, how’s it going?” Duck replied.

“Pretty good! Went out with some friends from high school yesterday. It’s always weird to see how they’ve changed,” Jane said.

“It’s just as weird to see how you changed,” Duck said.

“Yet you’re the same dork as ever,” Jane grinned. She walked into Duck’s apartment. Duck shut the door behind her.

“So what were you thinking for dinner?” Duck asked.

“I don’t know. I just ate, so I’m not hungry,” Jane said.

“You wanna play Rocket League?” Duck asked.

“Sure,” Jane said.

Duck went over to the TV stand and turned on the Playstation. Jane flopped down on the couch. Winnie walked over and sniffed her hand. Jane cooed and pet Winnie. Winnie dropped a feather in Jane’s lap.

“Where’d you get this?” Jane asked Winnie.

Duck looked back at them. Winnie looked very proud of herself. Duck stood up and went over to the couch, glancing around for any more feathers. There didn’t seem to be any, but Winnie liked to hide things under the couch for future retrieval. Duck just sat down casually. He handed the player two controller to Jane.

Just then, Indrid opened Duck’s bedroom door. Duck frowned. He hadn’t known Indrid was even there.

“Indrid, what’re you doing here?” Duck asked.

“Your bed is more comfortable,” Indrid said.

“When did you get here?” Duck asked.

“A few hours ago. I was going to say hi, but you were cleaning and I didn’t want to make a mess,” Indrid said.

“Hi Indrid,” Jane said.

“I’m going to go now, I don’t want to intrude on your family time,” Indrid said. He started walking toward the door. Clinging to the back of his tank top was a smattering of black feathers.

“You got something on your shirt,” Jane said. Indrid stopped. He awkwardly reached his arm to his back. As he brushed past the feathers, they fell to the floor. Winnie sprinted over to catch one.

“Hmm,” Indrid said. He glanced at Duck. Duck was keeping his mouth shut.

“Did Winnie murder a toy in your bed, Duck?” Jane asked. She looked like she was barely containing laughter. Duck shrugged without saying anything.

“That must be it,” Indrid said.

“Why do you look like you’re hiding something?” Jane asked, pointing at Duck.

“I–what?” Duck replied, “No.”

“You’re a shitty liar, Duck. What’s going on?” Jane said.

“That’s–we–I don’t–I can’t…” Duck said. He glanced at Indrid, hoping he had an explanation.

Indrid, being the absolute madman he was, simply took off his glasses. Duck stood in disconnected anxiety as Indrid transformed. Jane, to her credit, didn’t scream. She did look majorly weirded out, though.

“What the fuck?” Jane said.

“Yeah, why…” Duck trailed off. Indrid must know what he was doing, but he could have done without Jane knowing he was dating the Mothman.

“Well, I mean,” Jane said, redirecting her gaze to the pile of feathers on the floor. “Explains that, I guess. And the poster you had in your room.”

“Hey! You said we wouldn’t talk about that!” Duck said. He vividly remembered the poster: a stylized forest clearing with Mothman flying above it. It had been taped to his wall for all of two months before Jane started making fun of him for it. To be fair, he hadn’t actually believed in Mothman at the time.

“You had a poster of me?” Indrid grinned. Duck’s face heated up.

“Listen, it’s not–I just thought it looked cool, okay?” Duck said.

“No, I think it’s cute,” Indrid said.

“Okay, that sounds creepy coming from a giant moth,” Jane said.

“Fair enough,” Indrid said. He put his glasses on. Even more feathers were stuck to his clothes now. “See you later, Duck.”

Indrid walked out. Duck stayed perfectly still and waited.

“YOU’RE DATING THE MOTHMAN?” Jane exclaimed. Duck laughed nervously.


	9. never ask a magician for relationship advice (or a con man, for that matter)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TAZ Amnesty, with Duck, Aubrey, and Ned. Rated teen for language. Pairing: Indruck, with background Barclane and implied Danbrey  
> Duck tells his friends about his feelings for Indrid.

“Hey, uh, can I talk to y’all a second?” Duck asked sheepishly.

“Sure, Duck, what’s up?” Aubrey replied.

They were sitting in the lobby of Amnesty Lodge, waiting for the word from Mama that the gate to Sylvain was open. Duck had walked over to where Aubrey was sitting on the couch. Ned was sitting in the armchair next to them, and he looked up at Duck.

“Well… okay. I gotta warn y’all it won’t make a whole lotta sense at first,” Duck said.

“We deal pretty much exclusively in stuff that don’t make sense,” Ned said.

“Yeah, I know, but this isn’t like, extroardinary or anything. I mean, it is, but not in the way I’m saying it,” Duck said.

“Stop stalling!” Aubrey said. She looked very interested in what Duck was saying. Maybe too interested. She needed to get out more.

“Okay, well, here goes…” Duck mumbled, “So you know Indrid, right?”

“Yeah?” Aubrey replied, raising her eyebrows.

“So… I guess–how do I put this–I, uh, fuck. I think I might like him, okay?” Duck said.

There was a second where no one moved. Then Aubrey and Ned looked at each other. Then they looked back at Duck. Ned took his wallet out of his pocket and pulled out a twenty.

“Wait, hold up, y’all knew?” Duck said.

“I mean, it was first when you wouldn’t let us take his glasses, and then the whole eggnog back-and-forth, like you weren’t being subtle,” Aubrey said.

“And Indrid may be a, uhh, eccentric character, but liking someone from Sylvain is old news,” Ned said. Duck heard a choked cough from somewhere in the kitchen.

“Oh, I wasn’t even thinking of that,” Aubrey admitted, “I just didn’t see how he was cute. He looks like he’s never done laundry in his life, and not in a rich way.”

“Well, you don’t have to be mean. The guy’s literally got the whole future in his head. ‘Sides, you’ve been wearing that shirt for three days,” Duck said.

“This is different. It’s crust punk,” Aubrey said.

“Is it?” Duck said. Aubrey nodded defiantly.

“So how are you planning to ask him out? It’s gonna be hard if he can see you coming, right?” Ned asked.

“I’m not– I’m not there yet. I’m hoping I can just get over it,” Duck said.

“Why would you wanna do that?” Ned asked.

“I–well, he’s like–it’s just–he’s out of my league, I guess,” Duck said. Aubrey laughed.

“Duck, you’re kidding, right?” Aubrey said.

Duck frowned self-consciously. “I don’t–look, I’ll just go, I’ll figure it out–”

“No! I mean like, he was super flirting with you. And like, he asked for you on the phone? We were all right there,” Aubrey interrupted.

“Yeah, I did wonder about that,” Ned added.

“Alright, well, y’all helped about as much as I thought you would. I’m gonna go for real now, and just… think about stuff,” Duck said.

“You might as well go talk to him, he already probably knows,” Ned said.

“Nope, I’m good. If he knows, then I don’t need to talk to him,” Duck said, turning towards the door.

“That’s literally not how it works,” Aubrey said.

“Bye!” Duck said, walking away.


	10. getting hurt is inevitable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TAZ Amnesty, with Indrid, Aubrey, and Duck. Rated teen for language. TW: Graphic descriptions of an injury. Pairing: Indruck.  
> Duck gets hurt, which means it's time for Indrid to leave.

Three things happened at the same time.

Bladed claws tore into Duck’s stomach. An unidentifiable shriek rang through the forest loud enough that Indrid could hear it in real life. Indrid knocked over his glass of eggnog.

He watched in disjointed horror as blood splattered into the slushy snow. The eggnog hit the rug at the exact same time. Things were often synced like that. Utter disaster and a minor inconvenience. If it wasn’t so horrible, Indrid would have called it poetic.

But this wasn’t poetic. It wasn’t analogous, it wasn’t symbolic, it wasn’t metaphorical. It was painful and gruesome and harsh. It was like Indrid could feel Duck’s pulse under his fingertips. He was frozen in place, too far to do anything and too close to say he didn’t see it coming.

That was the worst part. Indrid had seen it coming. He had known it was a possibility in many of the timelines. It could have happened a few different ways. Duck jumping in front of Aubrey or Ned, Duck distracting the abomination, Duck trying to sneak up on it. This timeline, the one that actually happened, was possibly the worst of all. Duck had charged it, for some unimaginable reason, and had tripped just as he reached the monster. The monster, enraged and confused, lashed out.

Needless to say, Indrid stopped looking. He couldn’t exactly turn off that part of his brain, but he had learned to tune out certain parts. It was like going on autopilot. Slowly, almost robotically, Indrid started cleaning up the eggnog on the floor.

It was about thirteen hours later when Indrid finally convinced himself to tune back in.

He was sketching different scenes with a charcoal pencil, tracing over the catalysts with red pen. None of the places were in Kepler. Indrid knew he had to look at Kepler soon, if only for his own safety. As soon as that thought crossed his mind, he was instantly drawn to the present.

Duck was in a hospital room. Alive. He was alive. Unconscious, but breathing. Indrid dared to look further. Aubrey was sitting by the bed, nervously passing a flame between her fingertips. the doctor would come in in about three minutes, and Aubrey would quickly extinguish it so she wouldn’t get caught. The doctor would say… that Duck was stable and would likely be able to leave within the next 24 hours. He would make a lighthearted comment on Duck’s natural toughness. Aubrey would fake-laugh and the doctor would leave.

That’s all Indrid needed to see. He got up and went to the closet to find all the outerwear he could pile on.

Two shirts, three jackets, two scarves and a beanie later, Indrid arrived at the hospital. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to convince the person at the desk that he wasn’t a threat. But if he kept walking, he could seem confident enough that no one would question him. He already knew the room number anyway, so he pressed the right elevator button.

What Indrid didn’t know was what he was going to say. What could he say? He saw a few possible options, but all of them looked like they ended with Duck resenting him. Indrid kept trying different wording, and none of them seemed to work out. Indrid tried to figure out what it was that was making things go wrong.

“You have to be more careful” was out. “Stop running into danger” wasn’t better. “Can you please think before you run into a monster?” was outright condescending. Maybe Indrid needed to figure out why he cared so much.

Hmm. He cared at all. Why was that? The fact that Duck always charged headfirst into whatever challenged him was what drew Indrid’s attention in the first place. Finally someone who would listen first and ask questions later, he had thought. Finally, a pawn for saving the world, he had thought. Some other group had declared Duck the chosen one, and Indrid could see why. He felt why, and that was why Indrid was here to day. Because he needed Duck to do the things he couldn’t.

Immediately, Indrid knew that was bullshit. He was smart, but he wasn’t manipulative. He had to face it: he genuinely liked Duck. It wasn’t a power play or anything. Indrid just wanted Duck to be safe, and happy. The sooner he faced that, the sooner he could figure out a convincing lie to get out of town.

Before he could figure out which plan would work best, the elevator doors opened. Indrid walked through the hallway to Duck’s room. He tried his best not to look ahead, and failed miserably.

“What are you doing here?” Indrid said at the same time as Aubrey. She glared at him. Indrid answered, “I’m here because I want to talk to Duck.”

“Well, you should have said something before he got hurt,” Aubrey said.

“You and I both know that’s not how it works,” Indrid said. He knew she was upset, but she was being obstinate on purpose.

“Why didn’t you warn him or something?” Aubrey demanded. The once-harmless fingertip flame was spreading up her hands.

“I did. I’m already interfering too much even talking to you, and if I show up too much things start to get dicey. Besides, Duck is an adult, and he can make his own decisions. His own stupid, reckless, random decisions,” Indrid said. He watched the flames on Aubrey’s arms start to recede.

“So what are you going to say to him?” Aubrey asked, “Because anything you’re gonna say to him you can say to me.”

Indrid considered that for a moment. Duck wouldn’t be awake for another… 43 minutes. Was it worth it to wait in awkward silence? Or could he just hope Duck was listening now? He had to decide if he was actually going to leave now. Any other time he had found himself becoming attached to someone, he had skipped town. It was much easier than seeing people get hurt. Indrid was already too far on this one. He had to get out soon.

“I came to say… goodbye,” Indrid decided. Aubrey looked up at him angrily.

“What?! Are you kidding me? He’s gonna wake up from almost dying and you’re gonna tell him you’re leaving?” Aubrey exclaimed.

“Don’t– Aubrey, I know why this seems bad. But it’s the best for everyone if I leave. Disaster tends to follow me,” Indrid tried to explain. Aubrey was having none of it.

“Bullshit. Disaster happens everywhere, Indrid. Just ‘cause you can see it coming doesn’t make you any different from the rest of us. Like you said, Duck chose to run at the thing. And he talks about you all the time. If you leave? Listen–” Aubrey lowered her voice from its rising pitch. “He’s already talked about losing someone named Minerva. Not to me, I was eavesdropping, but that’s beside the point. If he loses you too? That’s gonna ruin him, Indrid. He says he hates the ‘chosen one’ thing but he’s counting on it. He needs you to tell him if he’ll get there.”

Up until the last sentence, Indrid’s hopes were getting higher. Then Aubrey finished her speech, and he realized that Duck didn’t think of him as a friend. Why would he? They had only spoken a handful of times. Just because Indrid considered that a lot didn’t mean any other person did. And Indrid didn’t exist as some sort of plot device, however much the universe seemed to think so. Indrid squared his shoulders and looked Aubrey in the eyes.

“I have to leave. I’m sorry,” Indrid said.

It was for the best that he didn’t have to talk to Duck. That would only make it harder. Indrid turned and started walking out of the room.

“Where’re you going?”

Indrid stopped. Duck was awake. Likely because of the yelling. It was too late to leave. Indrid turned back around. Duck was looking up at him from the hospital bed. He looked terrible.

“I… well. I’m leaving. Kepler. Permanently,” Indrid said. Duck’s face darkened.

“Oh,” Duck said, “So you were just gonna leave before I woke up?”

“I thought it might be easier. I’m not very good at goodbyes,” Indrid said. Clearly. This one was multiple minutes long.

“Why do you have to go?” Duck asked.

“Safety reasons,” Indrid said vaguely.

“Really? We can get Ned to stop faking sightings and all that,” Duck said.

“Your safety,” Indrid said. Duck looked confused. Indrid figured he must still be on pain medication. “Obviously, with the abominations, no one in Kepler is safe, but since I’ve been here things only seem to be getting worse. Arguably, I will be safer somewhere else. You would be too. But I can’t–”

Indrid cut himself off. He had been about to say something that would give away his terrible real emotions.

“You can’t what?” Duck pushed.

Indrid avoided Duck’s eyes, even though Duck couldn’t tell. He scanned the timelines. Three possibilities came to the front of his mind. One, he could just leave. He would walk out, pack up, and move on to a new town. Two, he could lie to Duck and then leave. Duck wouldn’t believe him, but there was nothing either of them could do about it, and then Indrid would never speak to him or anyone in Kepler again. That one left a bad taste in Indrid’s mouth.

The third option, Indrid told the truth and didn’t leave. He stayed in Kepler, and Duck did at some points get hurt again. Other people got hurt too. But people would have gotten hurt in all the timelines. That was the nature of existing: sometimes you just get fucked up. Now that Indrid was seeing it in a more objective sense, and seeing Duck’s worried face, the choice was clear.

“I can’t stand seeing you get hurt,” Indrid admitted, “And I couldn’t have done anything about it. I was personally terrified for the first time in years. Decades. I saw your blood hit the snow and I shut down. I can’t afford that kind of negligence. I have to be objective, and open-minded, and distance myself, and–”

“Indrid.”

Indrid closed his mouth. He looked at Duck expectantly.

“It’s okay to care.”

That was not what Indrid thought he would say. He wasn’t sure what that meant for Indrid’s predictive powers, but it was significant. All the more reason to stay with Duck. But Indrid still doubted if Duck’s words applied to him.

“It isn’t, though. I have been on Earth for over a century, Duck. I have seen so many things go wrong. If I start caring again, and something happens, then I won’t be able to help the next people,” Indrid said.

“You’re thinking about it the wrong way,” Duck said. Indrid frowned. People had called him wrong before, but this was the first time Indrid actually needed to listen. “It’s not about whether or not we’re gonna die. Clearly, that’s a risk. But with you here, it makes it easier to prevent the damage. And, I know this won’t mean so much to you, but… I want you to stay. We all want you to stay. Caring is a two-way street.”

“Really? We’ve barely talked. I haven’t done anything to earn even your trust,” Indrid said.

“You have. You warned us about the store, and the train, and you took off your glasses which seems like a pretty risky thing to do. D’you think I would’ve rushed in to save you from the goatmen if I didn’t give a shit? I like you, Indrid. Kind of a lot, actually. And if you want to leave, that’s fine. But I won’t let you do it with a clear conscience,” Duck said.

“Oh.”

Now that Indrid thought about it, a lot of things connected now. Apparently trying to be apathetic put up a barrier around his common sense. He walked towards Duck.

“You see what I mean?” Duck said.

“Yeah, Duck, I do. I’m sorry,” Indrid said. The apology was stiff on his tongue, but he managed it.

Duck reached for Indrid’s hand. Indrid wasn’t surprised at how warm Duck was, but he relished in it anyways. He didn’t have to go anywhere.


	11. coffee date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TAZ Amnesty, with Duck and Indrid. Rated general. Pairing: Indruck  
> Duck and Indrid go on a first real date.

Duck was nervous.

He wasn’t entirely sure why. He and Indrid had hung out before. But this was their first official date, and Duck didn’t want to mess it up.

Indrid had actually been the one to suggest it. Duck had assumed that he would prefer to stay in his trailer, because it was safer and warmer. But Indrid had admitted to feeling cramped and stuck. He had asked Duck if they should go to the local cafe, the Kepler Cup. Duck had agreed, not realizing the connotations.

Now they were standing in line at the cafe. Indrid was wearing three jackets and a scarf to “disguise himself.” Duck was scrambling to come up with a conversation topic that wasn’t weird. Indrid leaned on Duck’s shoulder.

“What are you going to get?” Indrid asked.

“Don’t you already know?” Duck said.

“Yes, a triple shot vanilla latte. Unless I convince you to get the peppermint one, and now the chances of you getting that are increasing,” Indrid said.

“You’re good,” Duck said. Indrid hummed in acknowledgment. “What’re you gonna get?”

“I saw an eggnog latte,” Indrid said.

“Yeah, don’t need any prophecies to know that one,” Duck said. Indrid laughed.

“That’s fair,” Indrid said. He looked over at the pastry display. Duck saw what he was looking at.

There were cake pops on a tall stand that were decorated like cryptids. Bigfoot, the Flatwoods monster, the Loch Ness Monster, and Mothman. Indrid looked at Duck.

“We have to get those,” Indrid said. Duck snickered.

“You knew those would be here, huh?” Duck realized. Indrid laughed. “Which ones?”

“One of each?” Indrid said.

“Alright,” Duck said.

They ended up at a table by the window with their drinks and the cake pops. Indrid was looking out the window almost wistfully.

“It’s interesting seeing things in first person,” Indrid said, “Kepler is a beautiful town.”

“Yeah,” Duck replied.

It was peaceful for a minute. They both tried their drinks. Duck had gotten the peppermint latte, at Indrid’s suggestion. It was pretty good, but it burned his tongue. Duck set his cup down.

“Why are you so nervous?” Indrid asked out of the blue.

“Wha–I mean, I’m not trying to be,” Duck said.

“Of course. But we’ve spent time together before, have we not? How is this different?” Indrid asked.

“I don’t know. I guess it feels more official, since we actually went somewhere. And like, other people can see us,” Duck shrugged, “It’s not–”

“I know, Duck. I get it. Why do you think I live in the middle of nowhere? There’s no one to dish the goss if there’s no one there at all,” Indrid laughed.

“Yeah,” Duck said, smiling.

“Now, let’s eat these cake pops. I’m guessing you want the Mothman one,” Indrid grinned.


	12. mistletoe as a plot device

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TAZ Amnesty, from Indrid's perspective with Duck, Dani, Jake Coolice, Aubrey, Barclay, and Ned. Rated teen for kissing. Pairings: Indruck, Danbrey, Barclane  
> Someone put up mistletoe at the Amensty Lodge holiday party, and everyone is trying to get some pairing under it.

Mistletoe was a common winter holiday tradition.

Indrid knew this. And he knew that there would be some hanging up at the holiday party at Amnesty Lodge. He knew that he would walk through that part of the dining room at some point, probably multiple times. He knew all of those facts, separately.

Technically, he also knew that he and Duck would both be in that spot at the same time. Well, in quite a few timelines, anyway. So why was he so surprised when Duck’s shoulder brushed his?

There were a few other people in the dining room. It felt like they had all been waiting for this moment. Dani and Jake had been sitting at the table and talking, but now they were glancing over at Indrid and Duck conspiratorially. Moira gave them a knowing eyebrow-raise. Barclay was standing in the corner looking smug. Indrid glared at him.

Then Indrid looked at Duck. Duck looked torn between bolting and staying extremely still. Indrid met his eyes. A silent agreement was formed. Indrid leaned down and pecked Duck on the corner of his mouth.

Murmurs broke out in the dining room. Jake passed Dani some amount of money. Barclay narrowed his eyes at Indrid. Duck looked slightly embarrassed and excused himself from the dining room. Indrid didn’t blame him.

Instead, Indrid left the dining room too and went to find Aubrey. He knew Dani would be coming to find her as well, so he had to act fast.

“Hey, Aubrey, i think Dani wanted to talk to you in the dining room,” indrid said quickly.

“Oh really? Why?” Aubrey asked, failing to look innocent. Indrid knew she could see the mistletoe from her spot on the couch.

“I don’t know, but you should go,” Indrid said.

“Okay.” Aubrey stood up and walked into the dining room.

As Indrid predicted, Dani had just stood up. They reached each other right under the mistletoe. Indrid tilted his head at Dani in a “your move” gesture.

Dani didn’t even hesitate. She kissed Aubrey on the lips casually and gestured for Aubrey to follow her. Aubrey looked a little dazed but definitely happy. Indrid met them by the stairs.

“Well played,” Indrid said.

“I know. But you and Duck weren’t the only ones we were betting on,” Dani grinned, “Hey Ned?”

“Yeah?” Ned walked over.

“Have you talked to Barclay tonight?” Dani asked.

Indrid knew what she was doing. He walked back into the dining room. Jake and Barclay were talking now. They stopped and looked at Indrid as he approached. Jake shifted his chair subtly to block off that path of exit. The only way to go was under the mistletoe.

“Oh yeah, Barclay, have you talked to Ned tonight? I think he’s out in the lobby,” Jake said. Indrid liked this kid.

“Hm, no actually,” Barclay said. Indrid instantly knew that Barclay could see through this whole thing. Indrid hated him.

“You should go ask him to take down the video. Maybe it’ll be his present to you,” Jake suggested.

“Maybe,” Barclay said. He played along, strolling around the table slowly to give Ned time to get there.

Ned seemed to understand the ruse too. Nevertheless, he walked up to Barclay, who was standing under the mistletoe. Jake was holding his breath. Indrid knew what was going to happen, and he wasn’t looking forward to it.

“It looks like we’re under the mistletoe,” Ned said in a stage-projecting voice.

“Yeah,” Barclay replied. An amused smile parted his beard.

“You know what that means,” Ned said at normal volume.

Then he made a show of pulling Barclay closer. They started stage kissing and making exaggerated noises. Jake grimaced. Indrid just left.

“You can’t con a con man!” Ned declared. Barclay laughed. Indrid flipped them off.


	13. public opinion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TAZ Amnesty, with a general outside perspective on Indrid and Duck. Rated general. Pairing: Indruck  
> In a small town like Kepler, word gets around.

The first time Duck walked around town holding hands with Indrid, there were whispers.

It’s a small town, so any shred of gossip travels faster than you can blink. In the time it took for Duck and Indrid to get from Duck’s apartment to the coffee shop, everyone who had been in the general store that day knew about it. People started watching them, failing to be subtle but remaining unacknowledged. Why was Duck hanging out with that trailer trash from Eastwood Campgrounds?

It wasn’t that people weren’t being supportive. They wanted to be, really. But really, Duck? Indrid Cold, the guy who (until then) only ever came to town to buy up all the eggnog? Duck could do so much better. He had a steady job and a nice apartment, and a seeming distaste for anything out of the ordinary. And Indrid was anything but ordinary.

That seemed to be the consensus. At least, it was, until Mrs. Pearson saw them walking out of the general store. They were holding hands and had a few bags of groceries between them. Indrid said something with a dry smile, and Duck looked up at him with an expression of pure happiness. She realized then that as long as Indrid was making Duck happy, then no one had the right to say anything about it.

The couple frequented the coffee shop, coming in on most cold afternoons for a pick-me-up. They would sit on the couch in the middle of the cafe with their legs touching, talking and laughing. Often, Duck ended up resting his head on Indrid’s shoulder, occasionally leaning up to whisper something in Indrid’s ear. Sometimes other people in town would sit across from them in the squishy armchairs, and Duck would introduce them to Indrid. Indrid would say something surprisingly accurate about them, and then play it off as a joke. Kind of weird, but not unlikeable.

Then Indrid started coming to the coffee shop alone. He explained to the barista (before she even asked, weirdly) that Duck was at work and unfortunately Indrid was a “distraction” and “wouldn’t stop replacing light bulbs around the station before they went out.” He ordered an eggnog latte and sat in the corner with a sketchbook. He appeared to be drawing from memory, though his drawings looked just like a stylized picture.

For the most part, he didn’t talk to people, but if they approached him he could talk at length. He was more accurate than the local weather woman, and he always knew when your drink was ready. After about a week, the owner offered to pay him for some pictures to hang up around the cafe. Indrid said he didn’t need money, but he would accept eggnog lattes for his work. The owner agreed readily, and the art was framed and posted by the end of the day.

Leo was the first to notice that both Duck and Indrid were changing. In a good way, he figured. He didn’t have much frame of reference for Indrid, anyway. But Duck was coming out of his shell more. He seemed more upbeat, and more approachable. Indrid seemed to be taking better care of himself too, between getting new clothes, washing his hair, and actually eating real food. And if Leo saw them being handsy in the hallway of the apartment building? He just turned up his headphones and was glad they were happy.


	14. pining in the pines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TAZ Amnesty, with Duck and Indrid. Rated teen for language. Pairing: Indruck  
> It's hard enough to tell if someone's in love with you for regular people.

Okay, listen. Duck isn’t--he doesn’t have a crush. He’s fucking forty-three, he doesn’t get crushes. He’s just a little out of his depth, emotions-wise, and he needs to figure himself out. He’s not gonna act on his feelings, that’s for sure.

The problem was Duck didn’t know where the feelings had come from. One day, he was sitting in the ranger station, and then all of a sudden he was thinking about how it would be pretty nice to kiss Indrid. It took a moment to process the thought, and then Duck physically jolted back. When did that become a thing?

In the few days since then, Duck had been trying to squash the feelings down. There was no way he could ever say something about it. If he did, Indrid would know and then every time they talked it would be awkward. Duck wasn’t going to jeopardize their tentative work acquaintance over some dumb feelings.

Were they even feelings? Sure, Duck thought Indrid was… nice to look at. And he was funny. And he seemed to have an appreciation for nature that Duck didn’t see much. And he made everything so interesting. Duck could listen to Indrid talk for hours about anything. Huh.

“Shit, Winnie, I’m really in deep this time,” Duck said to his cat. She just looked at him with wide eyes. Duck scritched her head absentmindedly.

~☀~

Indrid had gotten… crushes before. They were fleeting, meaningless, and Indrid got them every time a guy was remotely nice to him. They were gone within a day and Indrid moved on. That’s why Indrid was concerned now.

Before they met, Indrid had spectated the lives of the whole Pine Guard, to figure out which one would be the best to call. He had spent more time on Duck than any of the others, to make sure he was the right one. And he did the right thing, and that was fine. And then the trio came to Indrid’s trailer, and Indrid saw Duck in person, and that was fine. And then Duck saved him from the goatmen, and that was fine. And then Indrid was still thinking about him a week later, and that was most certainly not fine.

Well, if Indrid were just thinking about Duck that would be fine. Seeing Duck’s actions as they occurred in the present was helpful for calculating his future choices. But it was less professional than that. A lot less professional, actually. In a few timelines, he acted on those thoughts, and things went okay. But others… not so much. It was times like these that Indrid wished he was a mind reader. Unfortunately, he had no way of telling what Duck was feeling.

For the most part, Indrid blocked off whatever part of his brain made him want to make out with Duck behind the abandoned department store. Duck had only spoken to him once since he rescued Indrid. Even that was only a short conversation where Duck returned Indrid’s glasses. Indrid had no business getting attached to people anyway. It was pointless and only made things worse.

~☀~

Both Duck and Indrid were surprised when Duck knocked on Indrid’s door. Well, Indrid knew he would. But emotionally, he wasn’t expecting it.

“Hey,” Duck said as Indrid opened the door. Indrid looked the same as usual. Duck didn’t kow why he would look any different.

“Hello Duck,” Indrid said. Duck wasn’t wearing his signature hat, but he was wearing a green and black button-up flannel shirt and jeans. He looked good, and Indrid knew why.

Indrid stepped aside to let Duck in. Duck didn’t go very far. He stopped in front of the wall of drawings. Indrid was very glad he hadn’t sketched any of the possible timelines of this moment. He himself stood in front of the couch, a comfortable two feet away.

“Uh, you probably already know what I’m gonna say, or at least the idea of it, but, uh, I just wanted to get it out there so we could pretend it never happened and hopefully it won’t, um, make things weird, but, I… you know I’m not good at lying so I figured I should just say it,” Duck said. He wasn’t really sure what he was going to say.

“If you would like, I could try not to see the future for a moment,” Indrid offered. It was too late, he already knew the three main possibilities, but Duck would appreciate the effort.

“Heh, I mean, I guess,” Duck said. He wasn’t sure how that worked, so he didn’t question it. He was more focused on getting through this conversation. “So… right. I am telling you, sort of, how I feel. Which is that, uh, I um, have feelings, for you. Now-- this isn’t something we have to acknowledge ever again. But I did, uh, just want to, kinda, let you know, so that the next time we have to talk you won’t have to wonder why I’m acting like an idiot.”

Okay. Indrid heard the things Duck said. He understood them. He just had to process how that would affect- there we go. Okay. Fuck. He had to formulate a response.

“That is… good to hear,” Indrid replied. Shit. Not going great, huh. “I mean, uh, I feel the same. I also like you.”

They looked at each other for a second. Then, thankfully, Duck giggled.

“Man, I was worried I was gonna sound awkward. I mean, I did, but so did you, so…” Duck trailed off into more nervous laughter. Indrid laughed too.

“Should we kiss now? I think that’s what normally happens,” Indrid said.

“Yeah, let’s do that,” Duck smiled.

Indrid laughed again and moved forward. Duck met him halfway. Indrid let himself look ahead a second so he knew where to put his hands. He settled on Duck’s shoulders as Duck rested his hands on Indrid’s back. Their lips collided. It was good. Excellent, actually. When they pulled apart to breathe, they stayed close together.

“Be honest, is this the best it could have gone?” Duck asked.

“I think so, yes,” Indrid smiled.

Sure, they could have said more eloquent words, but that wasn’t the important part. The important part was that Duck was there and warm and he liked Indrid and Indrid liked him. Indrid kissed Duck again.

“You think we could do this often?” Duck asked.

“Hmm,” Indrid paused dramatically. He scanned the timelines. “Yes, definitely.”

“Great,” Duck said. He kissed Indrid again, this time a little bit harder. Indrid grinned against his mouth.


End file.
